Train derails in Spain, killing 77

By Al Goodman. Elwyn Lopez and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN

updated 1:39 AM EDT, Thu July 25, 2013

Wreckage of the front locomotive of a derailed train stands on the road while workers repair the railway on Sunday, July 28, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. A spokeswoman for the Galician regional government said that at least 79 people were confirmed dead in the train crash. It occurred on the eve of a public holiday, when more people than usual may have been traveling in the region.

Train driver Francisco Jose Garzon is taken from a police station to the Preliminary Court in Santiago de Compostela on July 28.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, second from left, and Galicia's regional President Alberto Nunez Feijoo, right, visit the site of the derailment on Friday, July 26.

Injured people are evacuated at the site of the July 24 train accident. The driver of the train is being held, Spanish police said July 26.

A train car is lifted Thursday, July 25, at Angrois near Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The train derailed as it hurtled around a curve at high speed on Wednesday, July 24.

Emergency personnel work at the crash scene July 25. An investigation into the cause of the derailment is under way.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, center, visits the crash site July 25 with Public Works Minister Ana Pastor, right, and Alberto Nunez Feijoo, head of the regional government in Galicia. The latter declared seven days of mourning for victims of the crash.

A relative of one of the passengers waits to hear news in Santiago de Compostela on July 25.

Other relatives of passengers wait for information in Santiago de Compostela on July 25.

Rescue workers inspect a carriage in the wreckage July 25.

A general view of the derailment in northwestern Spain on July 25.

Emergency workers at the derailment scene July 25.

Emergency personnel evacuate a man at the scene July 25.

Emergency workers help passengers July 25.

Women wait for news about crash victims in Santiago de Compostela on July 25.

Teams at the crash site July 25 expect to find more bodies, an official says.

The train was on its way from Madrid to the town of Ferrol with more than 200 passengers aboard.

Train driver Francisco Jose Garzon, identified by Spanish newspapers El Pais and El Mundo, is helped from the scene by a police officer.

The state railway company said the train derailed on a curve as it was approaching the train station in Santiago de Compostela.

Emergency workers climb on top of the wreckage as they help free injured passengers from the crash.

While it was unclear how fast the train was going at the time of the crash, it was capable of reaching up to 155 mph.

Rescuers work to pull victims from the derailed cars.

One person at the scene said he saw several passengers and witnesses helping get people out of the mangled cars.

Rescuers work to clear a derailed car.

"The efforts now center on searching for bodies and victims that could still be alive in the wreckage of the cars," journalist Ignacio Carballo from the Voz de Galicia newspaper told CNN en Español.

Officials said blood donations were needed as a result of the crash.

HIDE CAPTION

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

Deadly train crash in Spain

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: The death toll reaches 77, a court spokeswoman says

NEW: 73 died at the scene, and four later died while hospitalized

Witness: "The train was broken in half. ... It was quite shocking"

Photos show a mangled train car and smoke billowing from the wreckage

Madrid (CNN) -- A high-speed passenger train derailed as it hurtled around a curve in northwestern Spain on Wednesday, killing 77 peopleand injuring more than 100, officials said.

By Thursday morning, the death toll had reached 77, said María Pardo Ríos, spokeswoman for the Galicia regional supreme court. In Spain, judges are often called out to the scenes of fatalities.

Pictures of the scene showed a train car snapped in two and another car on fire.Rescue crews and fellow passengers pulled out bodies through broken windows and pried open doorsas stunned survivors looked on. Police escorted bloodied passengers from the wreckage.

More than 20 injured victims remained in critical condition early Thursday, said Agustin Hernandez Fernandez of the Galicia infrastructure ministry.

State railway Renfe said the train crashed on a curve several kilometers from the train station in the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Expert: Train may have gone too fast

High-speed train derails in Spain

iReporter: We saw trains split in half

The train had 218 passengers aboard and was nearing the end of a six-hour tripfrom Madrid to the town of Ferrol in northwest Spain when it derailed at 8:41 p.m., the railway said.

It was unclear how fast the train was traveling when it crashed. The train was capable of going up to 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph), the chief spokesman for Renfe said.

Residents who lived near the tracks told the Voz de Galicia newspaper that they heard a thunderous bang when the train crashed. Many of them rushed to the area with blankets and bottled water for the injured, the newspaper reported.

"The train had broken in half. Some pieces were on top, some pieces were on the bottom," said Ivette Rubiera Cabrera of Florida, who caught a glimpse of the wreckage while on a family vacation in Spain and sent photos to CNN's iReport.

"It was quite shocking," she said. "We had never seen anything like that. We had just been on the train last week."